Histology is the study of tissues and their structure. Disease processes affect tissues in distinctive ways, which depend on the type of tissue, and the disease itself. Hospital laboratories prepare microscope sections which are stained to show key features of the cells and anatomical structures within the tissues.

Learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• define all the terms given in bold

• outline the services provided by a hospital histology laboratory, and who uses them

• outline the processes involved in the preparation of tissue sections and explain the purpose of each of these processes

• identify a number of basic tissue-types from their microscopic appearance

• understand why histology is essential for accurate diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression.